YP75: Good news from US keeps markets in holiday mood

A shortened trading week following the summer bank holiday left the FTSE100 up more than 200 points on the week.

September started with a bang as equities rose between 2 and 3 per cent across the world on Wednesday as US manufacturing data was better than expected. This was further aided on Friday with better-than-expected employment data.

As the earning season draws to a close for the majority of companies, investors' eyes are turning to economic data for clues regarding the state of global economies. United States Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke spoke this week and indicated the US Federal Reserve would buy up more debt through quantitive easing if the outlook

worsened "appreciably".

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Tracsis started the reduced working week with a trading update in advance of its preliminary results, due out the end of October. The company was founded in 2004 to commercialise world-class research in the field of transport scheduling at the University of Leeds, and works with the majority of major UK bus and rail operators.

The update indicated a strong performance in software sales during the fourth quarter, which was met with a consistently high demand for consultancy services. The company has continued to achieve growth despite industry turmoil, and the full-year results are likely to be in line with market expectations which left the share price unchanged over the week.

Clyde Process Solutions, the Doncaster-based company which specialises in providing pneumatic conveying and air-filtration systems for process industries, reported trading in line with management expectations.

The order book as at July 31, stood at 24.2m, up 18 per cent since the February year end; however, low trading volumes meant the share price was little changed over the week.

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Pace group, which provides a range of digital satellite and cable products, announced it had arranged fully underwritten facilities to fund part of its acquisition of 2Wire Inc, which is still subject to shareholder approval at a general meeting.

On Thursday, Belgravium Technologies, a designer and manufacturer of real-time data-capture systems, announced half-yearly results ending June 30, which showed the company made a pre-tax profit of 26,000 on revenue of 3.7m.

The board intends to restore dividends as soon as conditions permit but the fall in profit

and revenue over the last year led the shares to fall over the week.

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Spice, a utility support services group, said it plans to recommend a cash takeover by European buyout firm Cinven if a 70p per share bid is made.

The company, which has been the subject of takeover speculation since June, when Cinven first made an offer of 56p per share, will continue talks with Cinven until September 27.

Adrian Wasson,Assistant Investment Manager at Brewin Dolphin, Leeds